Michael Owen
Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English international footballer who played for Liverpool as a striker from 1996 to 2004, before joining Real Madrid. Liverpool career Owen began his professional career on 18 December 1996 signing his first professional contract with the club after spending his youth career in Liverpool's academy. Owen made his professional debut and scored his first goal against Wimbledon on 6 May 1997. With the injury to fellow senior striker Robbie Fowler in the 1997-98 season he was catapulted into the first team schedule. On 18 November 1997 he scored his first professional hat trick against Grimsby Town in the League Cup. Later in the season on 14 February 1998 he scored his first Premier League hat trick against Sheffield Wednesday in the 3-3 tie at Hillsborough. He ended his first full season at Liverpool with great personal success becoming the league's joint top scorer with 18 goals, 23 in all competitions. His second season, while not wonderful for Liverpool, proved to be another successful season for Owen, scoring 23 goals in 40 appearances for the club. The following season, however, did not prove to be so good for Owen. He spent much of the year out on lengthy injury spells from a hamstring injury he picked up the previous April. He managed to scored 11 goals in the 27 league appearances he was able to make. In the 2000-01 season Owen helped Liverpool out in the most successful season they had had in years. While the league title still eluded them, they managed a unique treble in winning the FA Cup, the League Cup, and the UEFA Cup. In the FA Cup he famously scored two goals in the 83rd and 88th minutes to turn what looked like a 1-0 defeat into a 1-2 win. The next season Owen scored in both the 2001 Charity Shield and the 2001 UEFA Super Cup Final both of which Liverpool won. Owen scored his 100th goal for Liverpool on 21 December 2001 against West Ham United. He finished the year with 28 goals in all competitions. At the end of the 2001-02 season Owen became the first ever Liverpool player to win the European Footballer of the Year award. The 2002-03 season was another great year for Owen. He scored another 28 goals in all competitions. One of these his 100th Premier League goal against West Bromwich Albion on 26 April 2003 in the 6-0 win, four of the goals being scored by Owen himself. He also scored in the 2-0 win over Manchester United to win another League Cup for Liverpool. On 15 February 2004 Owen scored his 150th Liverpool goal against Portsmouth. Owen left for Real Madrid on 13 August 2004 for a fee of £8,000,000. Honours Player: *FA Cup (1): 2001 *League Cup (2): 2001, 2003 *FA Community Shield (1): 2001 *UEFA Cup (1): 2001 *UEFA Super Cup (1): 2001 Individual: *No. 14 on 100 Players Who Shook The Kop (2006) *No. 14 on 100 Players Who Shook The Kop (2013) *PFA Young Player of the Year: 1997-98 *Premier League Player of the Month (1): August 1998 *Premier League Golden Boot (2): 1997-98, 1998-99 *PFA Premier League Team of the Year (1): 1997-98 *BBC Sports Personality of the Year (1): 1998 *Ballon d'Or (1): 2001 Stats External links * Owen Owen